Box Score
The Bruins were within striking distance as the game drew to a close, but the Bishops wouldn't be denied as North Carolina Wesleyan handed BJU it's 5th loss in the last six games with a 87-73 defeat.
"We're letting too many teams do what they do instead of forcing them to do something different," Bruins Coach Neal Ring said. "We can't seem to get out of our own way. Sad thing is we played some really good basketball tonight but it was overshadowed by poor defensive play and not capitalizing on key possessions late."
It had been just shy of two weeks since the Bruins had played with the team defeating Toccoa Falls College in their last matchup. The team traveled to Rocky Mount, North Carolina to compete in the Roger Taylor Invitational. As they took the court at Everett Gymnasium, they knew they would be in for a tough test as the took on the Bishops who entered the game with a 3-3 record including winning two of their last three.
From the opening tip, the Bishops rode the energy of their home crowd to jump out to a 10-2 lead. Even a timeout couldn't slow NCW down as the team remained red hot from the field to stretch the lead 22-6. The Bruins then began to find their groove as Justin Matthews and Dustin Killough each knocked down a three to help the team chip away at the lead. After Quez Fisher hammered home a dunk, the Bruins had battled all the way back to trail 27-21.
As the first half began to near its end, the two teams went back and forth trading baskets but the Bishops maintained the upper hand. Justin Tankelewicz was unstoppable from beyond the arc as he shot nearly 50% from three-point range in the first half to help NCW build another double-digit lead. The Bruins did end the half with momentum as Dustin Killough beat the buzzer with a layup to make the score 44-36 at the break.
"We were closing out late defensively and allowing them to do what they do best," Coach Ring said. "Our guys played hard and made several great runs to get us back into the game."
In the second half, Bruins' forward Quez Fisher banked home a layup to help the team cut the lead to 44-40. The Bishops responded with more hot shooting from the outside as three point bombs rained down on the Bruins defense allowing NCW to again stretch their lead. At the midway point of the half, the Bruins had battled back to within six and looked to finally make the run to take the lead. But the Bishops responded with a 14-2 run as they put the game out of reach. Still, the Bruins refused to give up and continued to fight hard to the end. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Bruins fell to North Carolina Wesleyan 87-73.
"We had the game in a position to where if we take care of the ball we have a chance to make a late run," Coach Ring said. "Disappointed in our defense tonight and how we didn't close out. At this point in the season, we need to have little things like that figured out and right now we just aren't there. We are going to be making some adjustments moving forward to see if we can find an answer."
Quez Fisher led the Bruins with a double double on the night scoring 16 points and snagging 10 rebounds on 78% shooting from the floor. Marshall Riddle added 15 points while Dustin Killough finished with 11 and Nate Ellenwood scored 10. The main stat of the night was the Bruins allowing 25 points off second chance opportunities.
With the loss, the team falls to 2-8 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will play again in Rocky Mount tomorrow afternoon as they battle Greensboro College.
